1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to apparatus particularly adapted for controlled manual unrolling of rolled flexible material such as plastic stretch film wherein the film sheet is subjected to controlled tensioning during a wrapping or packaging process.
2. Background
Many types of wrapping materials are supplied in the form of substantially continuous rolls including material known as plastic stretch film. In the art of packaging and shipping systems thin stretchable plastic film sheet is widely used to wrap various types of loads such as a plurality of containers mounted on a pallet. Several methods have been developed including complicated automatic machines which operate to unroll flexible plastic stretch film while applying controlled tension to the film as it is wrapped around the load.
There are, of course, applications for the use of plastic stretch wrapping films wherein the use of an automatic machine is uneconomical or the machine is simply not adapted to wrap a particular shape or size of load. Manually operated devices have been developed for use in unrolling the wrapping film and controlling the tension of the film as it is wrapped around the load. In this regard there have been attempts to develop devices which are attached to or are supportive of a tubular core of the wrapping film roll to provide for applying tension to the wrapping film as it is dereeled from the core during the wrapping process. One such device comprises an elongated tubular core member having flexible sleevelike hand grips which are adapted to be sleeved over the opposed ends of the core and wherein the tension of the roll supported on the core is controlled by the squeezing of the hand grips into frictional engagement with the core as the roll is rotated with the core to dereel the wrapping film. Other devices are known which are considerably more complicated and somewhat defeat the advantages of a manual wrapping apparatus. However, in accordance with the present invention there has been developed a manual apparatus comprising a hand grip member which may be used singly or in pairs for controlled manual unrolling of rolled flexible material and is particularly adapted for controlled tensioning of stretchable wrapping films and the like during the wrapping process.